Division of Lalor
| Lalor Australian House of Representatives Division |
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|---|---|
 Division of Lalor (green) in Victoria |
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| Created: | 1949 |
| MP: | Julia Gillard |
| Party: | Labor |
| Namesake: | Peter Lalor |
| Electors: | 116,976 (2010) |
| Area: | 991 km² (383 sq mi) |
| Demographic: | Outer Metropolitan |
The Division of Lalor (/ˈlɔːlər/, locally [ˈloːlə])[1] is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. Located in outer south-western Melbourne, it includes the suburbs of Werribee, Point Cook, Laverton, Hoppers Crossing and Williams Landing.
The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 Federal election. It was named after Peter Lalor, the leader of the miners at the Eureka Stockade, and a former member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Lalor has been held by promiment Labor members; it is currently held by Julia Gillard, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. It has previously been held by Barry Jones, former Minister for Science under Bob Hawke and Labor National President, and by Jim Cairns, former Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister under Gough Whitlam. As Gillard was Deputy Prime Minister prior to becoming Prime Minister, Lalor is therefore the only federal electorate to have been held by two Deputy Prime Ministers.
Lalor is a very safe seat for the Australian Labor Party, which has held it for all but three years of its existence. As Julia Gillard has announced that she will not contest the seat in the 2013 Australian federal election, Lalor will see its first new member elected since 1998.
Members[edit source | edit]
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg Pollard | Labor | 1949–1966 | |
| Mervyn Lee | Liberal | 1966–1969 | |
| Jim Cairns | Labor | 1969–1977 | |
| Barry Jones | Labor | 1977–1998 | |
| Julia Gillard | Labor | 1998–present | |
2013 succession[edit source | edit]
After Gillard announced her retirement at the 2013 election, there was an open field for Labor nominations. Two people who initially sought nomination for the safe seat Division of Lalor to succeed Gillard were found to have difficulties.
- Joanne Ryan (backed by Gillard)—school Principal, had let her membership of the Labor Party lapse three years before,[2] and was (like Clutterham) seeking the Party's permission to skirt the stated nomination requirements;[3] and,
- Lisa Clutterham—diplomat, had been a member of the Party for a month before nominating, and admitted[4] to having no historical link to Melbourne or the Division of Lalor. She withdrew on 13 July 2013,[5] the day after Kitching had withdrawn;
plus
- Sandra Willis—daughter of former federal treasurer Ralph Willis;
- Theresa Sgambaro—Werribee accountant;
- Brian Dunn—Werribee resident;
- Kimberley Kitching—General Manager, Health Workers Union, withdrew in favour of Joanne Ryan.[3]
Joanne Ryan won pre-selection and will contest the seat at the next election.
Election results[edit source | edit]
| Australian federal election, 2010: Lalor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labor | Julia Gillard | 66,298 | 64.25 | +4.36 | |
| Liberal | Sheridan Ingram | 23,791 | 23.06 | -6.71 | |
| Greens | Peter Taylor | 7,045 | 6.83 | +2.81 | |
| Family First | Lori McLean | 2,880 | 2.79 | -1.61 | |
| Secular | Paul Sheehan | 881 | 0.85 | +0.85 | |
| Independent | Joanne Clarke | 708 | 0.69 | +0.69 | |
| Independent | Brian Shaw | 659 | 0.64 | +0.64 | |
| Revolutionary Socialist Party | Van Rudd | 516 | 0.50 | +0.50 | |
| Independent | Marc Aussie-Stone | 410 | 0.40 | +0.40 | |
| Total formal votes | 103,188 | 93.76 | -2.75 | ||
| Informal votes | 6,864 | 6.24 | +2.75 | ||
| Turnout | 110,052 | 94.04 | -1.38 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Julia Gillard | 74,452 | 72.15 | +6.62 | |
| Liberal | Sheridan Ingram | 28,736 | 27.85 | -6.62 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | +6.62 | |||
References[edit source | edit]
- ^ Those familiar with the suburb (not contained within the electorate itself), but not the electorate, may erroneously pronounce it [ˈlæɪloː] or [ˈlæɪlə].
- ^ Gillard's preferred candidate for Lalor could be ineligible to contest seat, ABC News Online, 8 July 2013, accessed 11 July 2013
- ^ a b Kimberly Kitching withdraws from contest for Julia Gillard's seat of Lalor ABC News Online, 13 July 2013
- ^ Diplomat parachuted in to contest Lalor preselection, admits being ALP member for less than a month, Emma Griffiths, ABC News Online, 11 July 2013
- ^ Diplomat Lisa Clutterham, Kimberly Kitching withdraw from Lalor preselection contest, ABC News Online, 13 July 2013
External links[edit source | edit]
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Coordinates: 37°47′46″S 144°36′50″E / 37.796°S 144.614°E
